In a world facing increasing concerns for food safety and quality, the ability for consumers to get independently verified information about a product, right at the point of sale, is a big step forward in supporting confidence in New Zealand food exports.

Seeing the opportunity to meet this AsureQuality, global experts in food safety and quality, developed the inSightª brand which is designed to provide consumers with additional information about the products they are buying.

The rigorous process of supply chain assessment to gain an inSight licence allows producers to use the inSight brand and a unique QR barcode on their products. By scanning the barcode with their mobile devices, shoppers are taken straight to the inSight website (www.aqinsight.com). Here they can view independent evidence about the product features prior to purchase.

Tenda Nutritional Foods successfully launched its range of inSight branded infant formula products into the Chinese market recently and is now set to release a range of kids snacks. This has created trust for its consumers by showing transparency, integrity and safety in the production process, enabling Chinese parents to make confident and informed purchase decisions.

Mark Inglis, Sales & Marketing Manager at AsureQuality, explains that inSight is providing a crucial point of difference for products in the busy FMCG market. ÒinSight gives consumers the opportunity to buy products, certain in the knowledge that they possess the food safety and quality attributes that matter. This is the first type of product mark that is able to address the multiple interests of consumers, and we are proud to be bringing product assurances into the 21st century.Ó

Features that consumers can check via the inSight website include environmental sustainability, ethical and animal welfare, nutrition, origin, organic status, and food quality and safety.

A number of other New Zealand companies have successfully gained an inSight licence and will be exporting inSight branded products over the coming months. AsureQuality is a State-Owned company and a leading provider of food safety and quality assurance services to the primary production and food manufacturing sectors in over 40 countries, including New Zealand, Australia, Asia and the Middle East.

It offers audit, inspection and testing services along the supply chain and has a scientific and agricultural pedigree that goes back over 100 years. The company independently verifies that food safety standards have been met assisting producers to gain access to their chosen global markets.